Making pizza in an air fryer may be a little unusual. However creating this mega popular dish, in the equally popular appliance du jour surprised one writer who was faced with 'unexpected results'.
Pizza is a food that is said to be universally loved. With over 64 million hashtags on Instagram, this hearty, moreish dish should have its own food group, it is that popular.
Air fryers continue to ride the popularity wave, with reports of sales spiking as people explore ways of cutting energy usage and reducing household bills. As reported by Birmingham Live, one reporter decided to push the air fryer to its creative limit and make a pizza.
The pizza has four key ingredients and takes only 20 minutes to prepare and cook. This is Rebecca Astill's air fryer experience and recipe of pizza she made in her Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK.
If you told me I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would always be pizza. I know that’s not a unique take, but there honestly nothing I love more than that crispy, gooey, melt-in-the-mouth circle of dough.
As is the way, the tastiest food is always unhealthy, and it’s just not sustainable to eat pizza everyday as much as I wish I could. However there is a way to make it slightly healthier.
All you need is an air fryer (I recommend Ninja or Amazon), and four ingredients. Those are flour, greek yoghurt, tomato puree and mozzarella, with optional extras.
Making the pizza in an air fryer uses much less energy than using an oven, too, so you are also saving yourself money on household bills. Air fryers use a lower wattage, generally around 1,550.
In comparison ovens use around 2,100 watts. This is a difference of around 18p per hour, plus air fryers cook food quicker anyway.
I decided to put the air fryer pizza recipe to the test. It took me around 20 minutes from start to finish, and works out at around 450 calories.
Ingredients
- 90g flour
- 90g 0% fat greek yoghurt
- Tomato Puree
- Mozzarella
- Pepperoni (optional)
- Cheese strings (optional)
- Oregano (optional)
Method
Mix together 90g of flour and 90g of greek yoghurt until you have a sturdy ball.
Add flour to a surface and knead for a couple of minutes, adding flour until the ball is no longer too sticky.
Roll your ball of dough out into a circle, using a rolling pin, wine bottle, or just the palm of your hand.
Add either cheese string or mozzarella to the outside edges and roll the dough in on itself to create the stuffed crust.
Squirt tomato puree over the base and spread out with the back of a spoon.
Sprinkle a good helping of mozzarella over the base, as well as any toppings you want like pepperoni.
Lightly spray the base of the air fryer and the top of the pizza with oil, then insert the pizza for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
The execution
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t just how tasty the pizza turned out. I worried the dough would be lacking in flavour, but it tasted just like a sourdough crust.
Admittedly, it did look very homemade, but I just think that adds to the charm. Homemade always tastes better.
I’ve listed the most basic form of the recipe, but I did season the dough with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I’d also recommend sticking to mozzarella for the stuffed crust.
I found the cheese string too bulky to be completely successful, as it ended up exploding and just being an extra pizza topping. But all in all, the pizza had a crispy dough, a gooey, cheesy topping and lots of flavour.
For 450 calories, it certainly feels like a cheats way to gobble up a pizza without the guilt. I’ll definitely be making this one more often.
The air fryer
I used my Ninja AF100UK, which you can also buy it on Amazon and Argos. I have also previously enjoyed using the Proscenic T22 Air Fryer from Amazon.
Alternatively, the Cosori Air Fryer is Amazon’s best selling device. The Salter Compact Air Fryer is a good budget option too.
